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Dhaka, Bangladesh (BBN) - The BBN (Bangladesh Business News) has prepared the morning business round up compiling reports, published by different newspapers and news portals in Bangladesh.
Punishment for false declaration in import, export toughened
The National Board of Revenue has increased penalty on exporters and importers for making false declaration to customs authorities regarding value and quantity of import-export goods and other cases. The revenue board also made mandatory submission of bill of entry to customs house within five working days after arrival of imported goods at ports.
Mobile operators caught in the cross-fire over SD hike rollout
Mobile operators are in the most bewildering situation: they are caught in the middle of a misunderstanding in the interpretation of the law by the revenue authority and the telecom regulator. Following the announcement of the 5-percentage point hike in supplementary duty for all mobile services in the finance bill for fiscal 2020-21, they complied with the order within hours by raising the rate at the users' end.
Economists question logic behind growth projection
A local think-tank Saturday questioned the justification behind setting the economic growth target for the upcoming fiscal at 8.2 per cent. In a virtual post-budget analysis on Saturday, South Asian Network on Economic Modeling (SANEM) said export and remittance, the two major pillars of the economy, have already been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, and such unexpected reality is likely to prevail in the coming days also.
Injecting black money in banks may backfire
Allowing black money in bank deposits and other instruments may cost Bangladesh more than the benefits it is hoping for, bankers and analysts have said. Bangladeshi banks may face questions from counterpart foreign banks in trade transactions and be subjected to higher risk charges and premiums, they said, suggesting that banks should not risk their credibility by providing safe haven for tax dodgers and money launderers.
BTMA: Remove VAT on all kinds of yarn
The Bangladesh Textile Mills Association (BTMA), while thanking the government for reducing value added tax (VAT) on all kinds of yarn from Tk4 to Tk3 per yard in the proposed national budget for fiscal year 2020-21, has demanded that it be removed altogether. The BTMA also urged the government to increase the existing alternative cash assistance from 4% to 10% for six months to compensate for the losses faced by export-oriented textile mills due to aggressive promotional strategies taken by competing countries.
Social protection schemes’expansion falls short of needs
The social safety net programmes (SSNPs) for the next fiscal year have largely focused on expanding the coverage of the existing schemes amid calls to make them better targeted, increase allocation and include the new poor amid the raging coronavirus pandemic. On Thursday, Finance Minister AHM Mustafa Kamal allocated Tk 95,574 crore for various social safety net programmes, which was Tk 74,367 crore in the original budget and Tk 81,865 crore in the revised budget for this fiscal year. The allocation is 16.83 per cent of Tk 568,000 crore budget and 3.01 per cent of Bangladesh's Tk 3,171,800 crore gross domestic product.
Stocks gain slightly amid pandemic crisis
Dhaka stocks gained slightly in the past week amid lacklustre trading due to deterioration of the coronavirus pandemic crisis in the country. DSEX, the key index of the Dhaka Stock Exchange, added 0.35 per cent, or 13.92 points, to close at 3,953.39 points on the last trading session on Thursday, after losing 54.9 points in the previous week.
Govt's bank borrowing ‘to deprive pvt sector’
The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Bangladesh (ICAB), in its budget reaction on Saturday, expressed fear that the government's dependency on bank borrowing will deprive the private sector. "But it will not be negative, if the government can utilise the borrowed money properly," the accountants' body said in its reaction.
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